Facts and Figures: CEO pay stagnant in 2013

If there’s one thing that most people know about major corporation CEOs, it’s this: They get paid. A lot. However, according to a March Reuters review of regulatory findings, pay increases for CEOs were not on the same level in 2013 as they were previously. Of the 46 S&P 500 companies that disclosed CEO pay raises before March 11, the average median compensation increase only totaled 1 percent. Meanwhile, in 2012, those same 46 companies saw a median pay increase of 15 percent.

$8.64 million in median salary for the CEOs of those 46 companies

9.5% growth in the median stock award for those 46 companies in 2013

23% decline in stock option awards among the 35 companies that issued them in 2012

Made of Goldman

But among the top CEOs on Wall Street, who is getting paid the highest? For the past couple of years, that would be Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and John Stumpf of Wells Fargo. However, in 2013, an old familiar name rose to the top of the list: Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs. According to The Wall Street Journal, Blankfein’s salary rose to $23 million in 2013, placing a Goldman Sachs CEO in the highest pay slot for the first time in six years, since the financial crisis.

$20 million salary for JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon

$19.3 million salary for Wells Fargo’s John Stumpf

Risky business

It sure seems that all corporations — from retailers like Target to financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase — are taking a hard look at their risk and compliance policies and revamping them. A study by Accenture confirms that suspicion, especially when it comes to what banks and capital markets firms are spending on compliance issues. 60 percent of the firms surveyed wished to create a stronger compliance culture, while two-thirds wanted compliance to “foster greater correlation” with the company’s governance.

53% of compliance managers are more frequently investing in analytics and risk modeling

91% of those surveyed are already investing in governance and oversight

71% of compliance managers surveyed report directly to the CEO or board of directors

Taking on the risk

So risk and compliance is growing. However, with an increased focus on risk and compliance comes an increased sense of responsibility. According to a March survey by Thomson Reuters, 53 percent of compliance officers feel that their personal liability has increased. “Compliance leaders are being held to increased accountability amidst an ever-increasing volume of regulation, the expectation to move and comply fast, and the exposure to record fines for non-compliance, now regularly totaling in the billions,” said Chris Perry, managing director of risk for Thomson Reuters.

75% expect an increase in the amount of compliance information published by their employers

25% of compliance teams spent more than 10 hours a week tracking and analyzing regulatory developments, almost double 2013’s total

Class in session

Looking back five years from now, 2013 may be remembered as the year of the major class action settlement binge. According to a study by ISS’ Securities Class Action Services, 12 class action settlements from 2013 now rank among the top 100 settlements of all-time as ranked by the total value of the settlement fund. That number ties for the record number of new cases entering the top 100 list since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, along with 2006 and 2009.

$2,425,000,000 Bank of America’s settlement fund in the biggest class action settlement of the year

7 of the top 25 class action settlements of all-time were settled in 2013